Sleep Disorders

With over 40 million Americans suffering from a chronic sleep disorder and upwards of 62% of adults experiencing sleep problems a few nights per week, it’s safe to say that millions of Americans are not getting the sleep they need to maintain good health.

Overview

A sleep disorder is a physical and psychological condition or disturbance of sleep and wakefulness caused by abnormalities that occur during sleep or by abnormalities of specific sleep mechanisms. Although the sleep disorder exists during sleep, recognizable symptoms manifest themselves during the day. Accurate diagnosis requires a polysomnogram, widely known as a “sleep test.”

It is estimated that some 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders. Another 20 to 30 million Americans suffer from some kind of sleep disorder on an irregular basis. The annual costs in productivity, health care, and safety have been estimated in the billions of dollars.

Source: National Sleep Foundation, National Department of Transportation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Types of Sleep Disorders

Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours of sleep a person gets or how long it takes to fall asleep. Individuals vary normally in their need for, and their satisfaction with, sleep. Insomnia may cause problems during the day, such as tiredness, a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, and irritability.

The main characteristic of narcolepsy is excessive and overwhelming daytime sleepiness, even after adequate nighttime sleep. A person with narcolepsy is likely to become drowsy or to fall asleep, often at inappropriate times and places.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder in which patients experience irrepressible sensations in the legs or arms while sitting or lying still. Terms used to describe RLS may include creepy, crawly, pulling, tingling, itching, or gnawing.

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD), formerly known as nocturnal myoclonus, is a condition in which a person’s legs or arms twitch or move involuntarily and periodically during sleep. PLMD is not the same as night muscle spasms, or hypnic jerks, that occasionally occur when a person is falling asleep.

What is Snoring? Snoring occurs when the breathing airway is not completely open. This forces the air you breathe to move more quickly through your airway and the soft palate and the uvula (the skin tissue that hangs down the back of the throat) to vibrate. The vibration makes the noise we know as snoring. […]